Are there boy and girl trees

Dioecious trees separate male and female parts on completely different trees where one tree is strictly female and one strictly male. Trees such as boxelder, persimmon, white ash, ginkgo, holly, red cedar, Osage orange, aspen and willow are dioecious trees. A polygamous tree has cosexual, male and female flowers on the same tree or in different combinations on different trees.

Red maple, sugar maple, black ash, locust, mulberry, tupelo and sumac are examples of polygamous trees. Ash trees are notorious for confusing and blurring tree gender lines as polygamous trees. In the Eastern U. For most trees, sexual behavior is not strictly male or female. Trees effectively reproduce using different combinations of functional sexual parts distributed in different types of flowers and cones.

The strict gender concepts of pure male and pure female we understand with animals must be flexible when applied to trees. Red maple pictured , sugar maple, black ash, locust, mulberry, tupelo and sumac are all polygamous trees. Looks may be deceiving The type of flowers or cones a tree produces determines tree gender.

Multiple sexual systems Trees have four primary sexual systems: cosexual , monoecious , dioecious and polygamous. First, figure out if the tree you are looking at is dioecious or monoecious. Once you determine that, you should try to find other distinctive male and female traits so that the gender identification process can be as foolproof as possible for you. One example would be a common persimmon tree known as Diospyros virginiana , which is dioecious.

In this case, male persimmon trees contain flowers, so you can look out for those as they will appear in clusters. Conversely, a female persimmon tree would contain big, single blossoms instead. If the tree has flowers, then keep in mind when looking for male traits that the tips of male flowers on the cedar of Lebanon, also known as Cedrus libani , are filthy looking when pollen season is in full effect. In the case of date trees, many people with advanced knowledge of trees have now been taught to recognize male and female date trees by specific genetic differences.

That is a very positive development because date trees are very tough to tell apart before they fruit. Having said that, it is important to have a professional like a Portland arborist make this determination, as an untrained person is unlikely to be able to spot the genetic differences between various kinds of trees. No matter what, it is crucial to always remember that not only is tree sexuality very nuanced and different from human and animal sexuality, so too is the sexual reproduction process.

This tree is available through our residential planting program , RiverSmart Homes. The Monkey puzzle tree or Chilean Pine Araucaria araucana is an unusual, attractive, and very interesting plant.

Its common names are quite deceiving — one comes from the idea that a monkey would be unable to climb it. Although it is also referred to as the Chilean pine, it is not a member of the pine family. The modern tree is evergreen, with strange leaves, a distinctive trunk, and branches that emerge from the trunk in whorls. The female trees produce large, edible and—according to people who have eaten them—delicious seeds which are very popular in some parts of the world.

The most popular dioecious landscape shrubs are the hollies Ilex spp. Some may select female plants for their colorful fruits in fall and winter. Warmer temperatures, the longer pollen season , and rising carbon dioxide levels are likely to contribute to increasing sensitisation to pollen. Studies have shown that air pollution particulates attach to pollen grains, which causes the powdery substance to shatter into still tinier pieces.

Higher CO 2 levels also cause plants to bloom more , which means even higher pollen counts where predominantly male trees reside. This article is more than 1 year old. Trees in Berkeley, California. By planting only male trees — such as the cultivated deodar cedar — which shed pollen unused by female flowers, planners can worsen human allergies.

Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo. Topics Trees and forests Allergies Asthma Planning policy news. Reuse this content.